just one of those days
by this-is-SPARTA
Summary: ever had one of those days when you're ticked off and have no idea why? It's amazing what stress can do to a person. ML one shot, season one AU. Pure fluff towards the end.


**A/N: **This idea hit me a while back and has just been sitting in my hard drive so I thought I'd post it. This is set some time in season one, when exactly is beyond me. Just pure M/L fluff that I needed to get out of my system. I swear the chapters for my other story will be up soon.

**Disclaimer: **not mine...yadda yadda...theirs...yadda yadda...no profit...yadda yadda

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When she woke up that morning to the usual dull, overcast sky she knew it was going to be one of those days. The fact she had actually slept the night before was her first big clue but her morning seemed hell bent on proving the point. There was no hot water and no coffee for a start. There was an empty space in the living room where her baby usually sat, a further reminder that it was in the shop which meant no joyriding for at least a week. She was already ten minutes late for work but when she went to grab her bicycle off the wall she noticed the back tire was flat. She was muttering curses under her breath as she made slow progress down the road pushing her despondent bike with her, a fact that wasn't helped when Seattle's sky opened and sent a heavy rain hurtling in sheets towards the ground. She arrived at Jam Pony just in time to catch the last half of Normal's rant,

"You people don't know how lucky you are to have a job. Work. Employment. Are any of these words ringing a bell? What you're supposed to be doing right now, instead of sitting on your hinnies like a bunch of useless lowlifes. And where the fire truck is Max?"

"You bellowed?" Max drawled, so not in the mood for one of his hissy fits.

"You're now…" he looked at his watch, "half an hour late? Care to come up with a better excuse than your aunt died?"

"Flat tire." Max replied, trying desperately to rein in her temper as she pulled her bike in front of her for him to see.

"Take one of the spares, you've got six hot runs lined up." He returned to his position behind his desk and pushed a pile of packages towards her.

It seemed each and every parcel had to be delivered to a complete asshole who felt it was fine to look at her like a piece of meat but didn't even have the decency to give her a tip, which was just wrong. The fact that her beeper kept going off wasn't helping improve her mood and she seriously considered finding a phone just to tell him to piss off. She couldn't deal with Logan today nor did she have time to as Normal was on her case whenever she went back to Jam Pony. She accepted the runs as a welcome excuse to escape his constant bips which were working on her last nerve. When lunch finally came she walked past Normal throwing up a hand to shut him up before he started,

"I'm on Lunch." She said flatly.

Lunch break was a union regulation, something even the pulse hadn't changed. Original Cindy took in the scowl on Max's face as she rummaged angrily through her locker for a towel to try and dry her soaking hair with. Only once the towel was found, used and roughly replaced did Cindy fell it was safe to speak.

"You aiight Boo?" she asked curiously

"Just peachy," Max replied sarcastically, a desperate need to punch something growing by the second, "considering how my day has gone."

"Trouble in paradise?" Cindy knew that whenever her Boo was in one of her moods a certain roller boy was normally the cause.

"Not even!" Max sighed looking at her best friend. She knew full well that Cindy was talking about Logan but she hadn't seen him in days, "Just one of those days."

"Ahh." A look of total understanding crossed Cindy's face, "Nothing going right?"

"Exactly!" Max held her head in her hands while Cindy rubbed a supportive hand on her back. If things carried on like this she was going to go mad. Then, as if on cue the insistent beeping of her beeper erupted from her waist. "And that's not helping!"

"Roller boy?" Cindy asked confused

"Yeah, that's like his seventh page. You'd think a guy would know when he's being ignored." Max snapped

"Maybe he just wants to see you." Original Cindy suggested, eyebrows raised at the insinuation

"Doubt it," Max scoffed; "besides his royal bippyness is counting the seconds until he can start hounding on me."

Sure enough Max barley had time to wolf down what they were passing as a Tuna sandwich these days, before Normal handed her three brand spanking new parcels and sent her on her way. Each delivery was in a particularly dangerous part of town, not that Max cared but they were the furthest away Normal could have found and something told her where ever the bastard was he was smiling. Max was busy deciding the best way to kill Normal when another round of shrill beeps interrupted her thought.

"For fucks sake!" Max shouted as she changed her direction to head for Sector 9 intent on beating some sense into the high and mighty Eyes Only.

As she rode the elevator she allowed her thoughts to wander for the first time that day. She knew she was pissed and angry and with the way her day was going she had a right to be, but there was something else. Something that had her fuming from the moment she woke up that morning. For a moment Original Cindy's voice echoed in her head, "Maybe he just wants to see you." Max allowed herself just a small amount of hope that maybe he had been so god damn persistent, just because he missed her and wanted to see her. Just that sliver of hope but she wondered why she clung to it. Never the less she was still fuming by the time she reached his doors and as usual she let herself in announcing her presence as she did so.

"The world better be coming to a fucking end after so many god damn pages."

She was greeted by an annoyed gaze as he pushed himself out of the office to meet her, "Well if it was left up to you, we'd all be dead by now."

"Spare me the bullshit Logan, I was busy. You know with my other job, other than being your personal transgenic lap dog."

"I paged you several times and you didn't even call. I missed the meet because of you, I could have had some one else go." He snapped.

Both were yelling and the situation had escalated in record time, even for them.

"Well excuse me if I don't jump every time you tell me to Logan!"

So it was Eyes Only stuff. He only needed her for a job not because he missed her and that hurt her more than it should have. She now knew the reason she was furious, it was him. Whatever she did or said it never came above his all important work, he didn't even notice.

"I might have missed the only chance I had to take these guys down because of you!"

"Save the sob story Logan I'm not in the mood for any of your greater good bullshit toady."

"Oh so now my work is bull shit?" He retorted clearly hurt, "Kinda rich, coming from someone who prefers to walk around oblivious to what's going on!"

"Let's not talk oblivious Cale, 'cause you take the cake." Max turned to leave before she said something she would regret, "I'm leaving."

"Not without an explanation!" he snapped but when it did nothing to stop her movements he called again, "Max!"

She stopped in the hallway with her back towards him. Her entire body was tense, hands stuffed into her pockets, "What?" she snapped

"Exactly, what the hell is wrong with you today?" His voice was still hard from her flippancy of the subject but now it was tinged with worry at her behaviour. He had never seen her like this.

"Me! You're the one who can't see what is right in front of you!" Max couldn't believe she was saying this, to him of all people. All the frustration from today was slowly bubbling up to the surface and she prayed he would let this drop even though she knew he wouldn't.

"And what's right in front of me?" he asked honestly bewildered

"I am!" She yelled turnig back to face him. A little part of her started to panic but a bigger part told her to finish what she started, at least that way everything would be out in the open between them. Keeping this all in was starting to eat at her insides and she couldn't take it anymore, so she took advantage of his ongoing silence.

"Today I woke up angry. Angry that I hadn't seen you in three days. Angry that I hadn't heard from you and when I did it would only be about Eyes Only stuff. Angry that no matter what I do you can't see past that damn computer screen and that fucking chair. Angry that your chair makes you think it isn't worth it anymore. Angry that you throw yourself so deep into your work because of it, that you can't see how much I…." she trailed off not knowing exactly what to call it. The tears that filled her eyes were stubbornly held back. She steeled her shoulders and added a soft "Never mind" before continuing her progress to the door.

With a burst of speed that surprised even him, Logan was in front of her blocking her way to the door.

"No!" he said firmly, "I'm not going to let you run away from this."

Max remained silent looking at his determined expression, eyes locked with his. All loud and harsh words were forgotten as he gently urged her to finish what she had started, a small part of him needing to hear it said.

"What were you going to say, Max?"

Max sighed. She couldn't believe what was happening. _Perfect end to the perfect day! _She thought bitterly. Her big mouth had landed her right in it this time and for once Logan wasn't letting her get out of it but that didn't make it any easier.

"That I care about you Logan. I have from before the shooting and everyday afterwards." He was silent again so she panicked "I got to get back to work before Normal fires my ass."

As she passed him, Logan grabbed her arm and pulled her into his lap where he held her down with his arms around her waist. She could have pulled away but she didn't, his touch wiped all coherent thought from her mind.

"Max," Logan said making her eyes meet his, "Everyday all I see is you. You are the one good thing I have left in my life. I thought the only reason you kept coming back was because I had a connection to your family and a well stocked fridge. Everyday I wake up with the thought of telling you how I fell but then I remember that my legs don't work. You deserve better than that, better than me."

Max had only one answer to that. She grabbed him and kissed him, slowly, softly. For a moment Logan sat stunned but soon responded in kind, pulling her closer to him. He pulled back with a smirk playing at his lips.

"I think my day just got a whole lot better." Max smiled as he reclaimed her lips.

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**The End**

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End file.
